San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-11-15
THREE B7ON BOYS.
BY W. E. NORRIS.

he once profcssed himself determined to
check. The past few months had worked
O very perceptible change in him; he had
grown stOuter; his complexion had become
pasty and his eyelids heavy, and a few
gray hairs had appeared about his tenn
pies. His manners. too. had distinctly de
Perforated lie vas bored, and did not at
tempt to disguise the fact; moreover, ne
displayed Il contradictions and quarrel
f2ne tendency which evidently caused
LJme anxiety TO our hostess.
As for Lady BraCEEclI she YVES bgiI-
liant and radiant Her black dress and
Jet ornaments threw M the dazzling
whitencss of her skin; she looked rs if she
had not a care in the worI3; end if, as !
suspect, the other Ladies were whispering
to each other what q heartles3 wretch the
woman was, l can only say that in my
humble opinion they had a very good
right TO do so.
Probably neither their remarks nor my
opinion were matters of much moment to
her She was a cold hearted aud calCu-
lating woman, but she was capable, no
doubt, of enjoying herself after her own
fashion, and few things can be moro
pleasant than TO indulge in your flVOritc
pastime, while making it sUbscrve a def
mite, practical end. This, for the time
being, appeared to be Lady Bracknclls
enviablc lot. The subjugation Of Beau
champ was complete. He remained by
her side the whole evening through; he
scarcely took his eyes Off her for a NO
ment; and it may be assumed that he had
no idea of the sorry spectacle that he pre-
scented to lockers on.
Hilda had a second string to her bow,
in the shape of certain Comte de
Vieuzac, French attache, whom | had
met several times in Wilton place. De
Vieuzac was one of those sGmi-ADCliciZed
GaulS who get their clothes made in Lon
don, whose talk is of horses and shooting,
and who discuss sport with a solCmutty
far exceeding that of their models. Being
young, by no means bad looking, and fnll
of that confidence in the Irresistible ma
ture of his charms, which is the very last
thing that his countrymen can bring
themselves to part with, he most likely
fiattered himself that he had made con-
quest Of Lady Bracknell, and it was easy
to see that he found Beauchamp a good
deal in the way. That Beauchamp reCip-
rocated his sentiments with interest was
not less obvious; and while one of the
young men assumed an aggravatingly
supercilious micn and the other sCowIed
savagely, Hilda, arbitress Of the contest,
sat between them, displaying her white
teeth and gently swaying black ostrich
feather fan.
Somehow or other the sight Of that snil
ing, contented, selfish woman, playing off
her admirers one against the other, infuri-
ated me. l could not get the memory of
poor little Summing out of my head while
/ watched her; it seemed to me that Of all
forms of depravity the most odious is that
which obliterateS the natural, animal in
stinct of maternal love. And my soul
being stirred within me by the spectacle
of the power possessed and exercised by
that woman, who if she had had her de-
serts would have been picking oakum in
Mllbank penitentiary, | could at last con-
tain myself no longer, but, rising from my
scquestered corner, crossed the room with
the intent to do a truly silly thing.
made straight for the sofa on which
Brackncu was sitting apart with his hands
in his pockets, aud asked him whether lie
didn' want to smoke.
"Of course do, - he grow led. ''Why
the dickens don't these people 20 to bed -
eve will give them the slip" said !;
for was bent upon having a few words
in private with him. "Nuw il 0Jlr time,
while nobody is looking"
So | got him away to che smo,ziugroom
and, rs soon a. We had lighted oar cigars,
plunged head first into the middle Of my
subject. 'Brackncll. 80 said I. Edo yuu or
do you not intend BeaucIump 10 marry
your sister,"
have mentioned already that Brack-
ncll's manners had dcterioratcd. lie
frowncu heavily and asked me what the
devil that was to me.
Il will rcll you, | answered. "NoU
must admit, think. that you haven't hc-
hayed very well to jim Leigh
Good Lordr interrupted BrackncIl.
care you going back to that old story
again? Way. man. | made him an apul-
Ogy when he rcappgured in London last
summer What more would You have .
l can assure you that | repent from the
bottom Of my heart Of having deprived
him of Miss IIilda Turner
II don't doubt it, | replied; Il only
meant to remind You that you owe him Il
good turn. | cant 90 into particulars, be
cause we shall have the other men in here
presently, but the long and the short Of il
is that Lady Mildred and he are in love
with each other
ooh, indcedr' said Brecknen. "Weu.
really, don't care.
Docs that mean,n I inquired, 'that
you won't oppose their marriage"
at means, " answered he, that I shall
not bother myself about the matter, one
way or the other jim had better fight il
out with the governor"
ought, | suppose, to have been con
tented with that had not behaved with
my usual circumspection in introducing
the subject at all. and had received an
assurance which, so far as it went,